3...Bg7 can lead to Robatsch positions. I'm headed for a Caro Kann Gurgenidze. The CK Gurgenidze is part of the "Zoom" opening repertoire which aims to present the player with the same typical positions as Black or White. The other base openings recommended are the Gruenfeld against Queen Pawn openings and the Catalan as White.

4. f3

Nf3, e5, and h3 are all more popular alternatives to 4.f3. The text move has seen success, but recently it has fallen out of favor. Here it inhibits, at least for a time, development of the King Knight and King Bishop. In this game White's King Bishop will play almost no role. I will look to restrict the Bishop by use of b4 at the right moment.

4... Bg7 5. Be3 dxe4 6. fxe4

White has the typical strong pawn center. As a "recent" devotee of the Hypermodern approach, I'll seek to attack the center with pieces and attack White on the Queenside flank. There was a time when I was loathe to move any of the three pawns in front of my King or to concede the center at any point. Now, I find many of those games quite boring even when I am successful, at least in correspondence play. I find that I think nothing of letting an opponent push a center pawn down the board witrh little restraint in many cases, as long as I have chances of a strong wing attack and my King is safe!

6... Nf6 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Qd2 Ng4

8...Qa5 was also playable to avoid a cramped game and attack on the Queenside where White will castle.

White has a prototype center and centralized pieces. White should be +=, right? Time to challenge the center.

10... e5 11. d5 Nd7 12. h3 Ngf6 13. d6 Qd8Black is retreating in the center and Kingside. White is expanding and has a central passed pawn! Whatever will Black do? I refer the reader to Nimzovitch who stated that a passed pawn must be blockaded and eventually executed as a criminal.

For all practical purposes, White's central pawns are isolated and the d pawn is over extended. White will be required to marshal all of his forces to hang on to it while all I must do is blockade it until the time is ripe for decapitation. Of course, that is a big all and White can ruin Black's world on the slightest misstep by the second player.

White's best moves here are limited to Kb1, Qe3, a3, and Bc4.

14. Kb1 b5

Since he didn't develop the King Bishop I'll go ahead and make life difficult for it while expanding toward his King.

15. Qe3 Qb6

In a cramped position one exchanges off forces to free the position. White will either acquiesce to the exchange or retreat his Queen. Either is a plus for Black.

16. a3

16. Qe1 might have been preferable when the Queen could re-emerge on the Kingside at g3 or h4.

16... Qxe3 17. Bxe3 a5 18. b4

18. Bd3 was another option.

18... axb4 19. axb4

All of a sudden White's King seems vulnerable.

19... Rd8 20. Be2 Ne8The start of reorganizing my Knights and Queen Bishop to let the Bishop take over blockade duty. The Knights are destined for invasion duty in the center from e6 and f6. The King Knight was also in the way of the f pawn who is headed for f5.

Here I intended an eventual doubling of the rooks on the a file, knights at e6 and f6, light Bishop blockading the d pawn, and the dark Bishop attacking from f8.

21. Rd2 f5 22. Rhd1 Nef6 23. Ng5

23. exf4 seemed better to me.

23... Nf8 24. h4 h6 25. Nh3 Bd7

I thought about 25...Ra6 but stuck to the plan. The Bishop is right at home at d7.

26. Kb2

The alternative 26. Bb6 had no teeth.

26... Ra6 27. Nf2 Ne6 28. Rb1 Rda8

Reorganization complete with malicious intent on the a file which has White's Queen Knight frozen to c3. The d pawn is isolated and demands protection even though no Black piece is attacking it. White's King Knight is out of the game and he has no time to bring it back. White's King is exposed and none of his pieces have scope beyond the third rank despite his former strong center.

29. Rdd1

White has nothing better.

29... Nd4!!Advantage Black! From here it is a matter of simplifying and getting the point.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I don't pass on email stuff. When I get forwarded things I usually trash them or respond to the sender. But this is a blog... My Step Mother sent this one along.

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes, in salad dressing.2. Have you ever smoked? Yes, but I didn't inhale.3. Do you own a gun? Are you kidding?4.What flavor of Kool-Aid was your favorite? Tropical something...5. Do you get nervous before a doctor appointment? No. I never make doctor appointments. People get sick when they go to the doctor.6. What do you think of hot dogs? They should be doused with mustard and relish, and I inhale. Ask my wife.7. Favorite Christmas movie? Die Hard.8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Cool Mountain Air.9. Can you do pushups? Why would I want to?10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My Wedding Band.11. Do you have A.D.D.? Nope... Hey, that's a cool car!12. Are you truly in love with your wife? Tenth Anniversary will be in a couple months. If that ain't love...13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I can't grow Elvis sideburns. I can't tell you how much that has damaged my psyche.14. Middle name? Douglas15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: What's for dinner? When is dinner? Who's cooking dinner?16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Tea, Coffee, Soda.17. Current worry? My nose is itching.18. Current hate right now? No Football. No Baseball.19. Favorite place to be? In front of a deep dish pizza.20. How did you bring in the New Year? Work.21. Where would you like to go? To Dinner.22. Name three people who will complete this. My Wife. Two other gullible nutjobs with nothing better to do. I envy them.23. Do you own slippers? Nope.24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? Aqua Blue.25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I'm married. Ask me something applicable.26. Can you whistle? Yes. Not as good or as loud as my mother could. Hawaii tried to license her whistle for tidal wave warnings.28. Would you be a pirate? I hate large bodies of water. Otherwise...29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Depends. Who is listening?30. Favorite Girl's Name? Wilhelmina31. Favorite boy's name? Ebenezer32. What's in your pocket right now? Lint.33. Last thing that made you laugh? A Liberal.34. Best bed sheets as a child? Spidey!35. Worst injury you've ever had? I once smashed the large toe on my right foot.36. Do you love where you live? Nope. Too many Yankees.37. Question Missing. Amber Alert Issued.38. Who is your loudest friend? My Wife.39. Have you ever been cheated on? If so they were smart enough to not let me know...41. What is your favorite book?The Wayfarers42. What is your favorite candy? M&Ms.43. What is your favorite Sports Team?The Washington Redskins!44. What song do you want played at your funeral? Happy Trails by Dale Evans.

WHY IS # 40 MISSING? Someone deleted it? I have a better question, what happened to #37? Questions are going missing. Did Obama institute question rationing? I thought he was just after my guns and my money...

As I have mentioned previously I initially started blogging about a very narrow topic of Correspondence Chess. As I found that I could "speak" on topics easily, and get heard, I wandered into other areas such as football, politics, chess governance, etc... As I wandered between topics I wondered about keeping things in categories. Categories are important to me. I once worked as a library clerk and the value of keeping things in their place was imprinted from that on my psyche despite my scatter shot nature. In fact, working in libraries was so enjoyable and fulfilling that I have had a long held the dream of one day being a reference librarian. Some day I may even realize that dream...

Back to the topic. In trying to create venues to voice opinions, and in some cases make a difference, I started creating blogs by the bushel. Part of the concern was that many of my chess playing friends and Redskins fan friends do not hold my views on politics and current events. That, at times, created some strife. Out of those desires and concerns came ChessUSA in September 2007 and Pax Parabellum in September 2008 along with other blogs focused on the Redskins and Correspondence Chess. While Pax and CUSA thrived, lost in the diversification were writings on my beloved Washington Redskins and on Correspondence Chess.

So, I'm consolidating back a bit. I posted recently about closing ChessUSA (here and here). To be honest, I'm not all broken up over closing it. I've grown very jaded about chess governance over the past couple of years and have lost the passion to write on and advocate for change in that arena. As I wrote a friend, I do feel some gratitude for the persons who brought home the point to me (though I think this was not their motivation) that the events surrounding the USCF and chess governance had diminished the enjoyment I had derived from playing and observing the game.

Chess is a game. It is supposed to be enjoyable.

In that email to a friend, I stated, "The USCF can sink or swim. Beyond interacting at the forum, it can do it without me. I'll make use of the $29 option and if the USCF makes it, fine. If it doesn't I have other avenues to enjoy chess. :D"

Sánchez Carmona - OwensICCF WS/O/120Black to move after 29. Rdd1.

White's Game is OVER after 29...Nd4.

I can't tell you how liberating the recent events have been. I have a recently completed Caro Kann - Gurgenidze game as Black that I have just begun to look at. The 29th move is a real gem and something that a player of my level should have pride in. It's something I would have blogged about soon after completion a couple years ago. I have two ICCF WebServer Open Class FIRST PLACE finishes (WS/O/172 and WS/O/215). In 215 I finished undefeated and untied for a full SIX points.

It's time for blogging to be fun again. I'm going to blog at Pax and here. Pax will have my comments about politics and current events. Everything else will go here.

To that end I've deleted most of the political and current event content from this blog. Everything is still over at Pax. I'm going to move the few Redskins items I posted at Zorn Again over here. The correspondence chess blog I started never received any content other than what had already been posted (and remains) here.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Researchers at the University of California - San Fransisco think that Taser use is contributing to the rise in deaths of persons in the custody of police.

"In our opinion, there is a potential lethal risk with Tasers," said Zian Tseng, MD, a UCSF researcher. Cardiologists Byron Lee and Zian Tseng studied data provided by law enforcement agencies from 50 cities, and found the number of in-custody deaths went up six-fold in the first year a department started using Tasers. Lee and Tseng believe officers may be aiming too close to the heart.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The sister of a Raton man who died in police custody has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.Jesse Saenz, 23, died in November 2007 after Raton police restrained him by firing a Taser and sitting on his lower back.An autopsy found that Saenz died of cocaine intoxication. But the report also concluded that the actions of police officers played a contributing role in his death.(...)The officers then gave Saenz a "bump tase," in which the Taser was applied directly, rather than firing a dart, to the back of the neck area between the shoulders, according to the complaint.Edmondson then ordered both Baca and Dominguez to deploy full Tasers, and the weapons were fired 23 times over the course of a few minutes, the complaint states. The officers later told New Mexico State Police investigators that they believed their Tasers, which deliver 50,000 volts, malfunctioned the night of the incident.Saenz was placed face down on the back seat of Baca's police car, whereupon Dominguez sat on Saenz's neck and upper back, then later his lower back and hips, the complaint states."Dominguez held Saenz's legs towards his own chest while Saenz was handcuffed behind his back and face down on his stomach in the back seat of the patrol car," according to the suit. "This position made it virtually impossible for Saenz to breathe and increased the stress on his heart."

As the item notes, the officers involved have been indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Friday, January 16, 2009

One thing this off season that has me boiling about the Redskins' front office is the uncertainty about keeping Carlos Rogers. The one unit on the Redskins' roster that over achieved and performed the best was the secondary. The CB and Safeties match up, in my opinion, with any other in the NFL. Even with letting Springs go the combination of Rogers, Hall, Smoot and Tryon at CB and Landry, Horton, Green, Moore, and Doughty at Safety should be a productive unit capable of covering event the most dangerous passing teams.

It seems that signing Hall will be a fait accompli, and to my mind, a good thing. Rich Tandler is of the same opinion:

The first piece of the puzzle is cornerback DeAngelo Hall. After being picked up in midseason following an unceremonious dumping by the Raiders, Hall worked his way into the starting lineup and played well. There are signs that he may be growing up and that his "MeAngelo" days are behind him. He is an unrestricted free agent and if the Redskins can get it for something like the numbers being floated around—about $12 million guaranteed and $45 million over six years—it's a no-brainer to bring him back.

Tandler writes of the Rogers issue:

What I don't understand is why Hall and Carlos Rogers are being presented as an either-or proposition. Rogers was playing at a Pro Bowl level for the first half of the season and he wasn't awful when he was demoted to nickel back when Hall moved in to the starting position. He has a year left on his contract. If there is no collective bargaining agreement by next year Rogers will be a restricted free agent, meaning that the Redskins can make him a qualifying offer and get a first-round pick if he signs elsewhere. In any case, there is a good chance that the Redskins will control his rights for the next two seasons.

Tandler cites Springs cap hit ($8 mill) as a reason to let him go, and I agree. As savings of $6mill would allow, as Tandler states, the Skins to re-sign both Rogers and Hall.

PFW had an almost identical evaluation of Rogers' play over the first half of the season:

Through the first part of the season, Rogers was playing at a Pro Bowl level, but he fell off and eventually was demoted to playing nine defensive snaps in the loss to the Bengals. The club would like to work out a long-term deal with free-agent-to-be DeAngelo Hall, and not Rogers - whose deal has one year remaining - and could use him as trade bait. One estimated guess at Rogers' value: a second-round pick, which would offset the draft-pick shortage somewhat.

TOBOTWR, citing PFW, thinks that Rogers was playing even better than PFW and Tandler give him credit, and echos thoughts I share:

I have mixed feelings on this one. I think Rogers had a terrific season, even after he supposedly "fell off". He may not be the best at, you know, catching the ball, but that's why he's not a wideout. His cover skills remained strong, and you can never have too many good cover guys. At the same time, if you can get great value for him, I can see the sense in doing it.

But I keep coming back to the same thought: If you have a great performing unit, why muck with it? Why not concentrate on building the units that need drastic improvement which include just about every other area of the team? I understand if they want to let Springs go. He played half a year in 2008. Looking back on a long record of Springs in the NFL one can't realistically count on more than that from a player making $8mill a year -- He should go.

However, Rogers has shown that he is a consistently competent cover corner -- one of the best in the NFL at that skill, and with prototypical size and speed. So he can't catch the ball... That isn't his job description, which is keeping the OTHER guy from catching the ball. He is a good citizen and wants to play for the Redskins and won't break the bank to do so. What the hell more do the Skins' FO want?

This is the exact type of blunder that has lead to the linebacking unit's year by year degradation of talent. Will this be another Arrington for Holdman scenario? In that case a rogue LB coach, a nincompoop agent, and overdeveloped egos on the part pf the player and the owner conspired for a perfect storm in removing an all-pro calibre linebacker from the team. He has yet to be replaced, apologies to Rocky McIntosh. In this case the player likes the team, is a good citizen, and is willing to sign a reasonable contract... And he's trade bait?What the hell is Vinny doing?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Jason La Canfora finished his review of the state of the Redskins' roster with the QBs last in a series of posts over the last couple of weeks. Although I disagree with his wanting to keep Collins around as the backup, JLC wrote something that should resonate with every Redskin fan about QBs, especially after watching the last couple of weeks of the regular season and the first two rounds of this years playoffs:

But just look at the QBs in the playoffs. Every week - and twice on many Sundays - passers are derailing entire seasons with four-to-six turnovers, poor decisions, imprudent gambles with the football. Campbell never did that. He didn't win enough games for his team, but he certainly wasn't losing them. Even at his worst, he kept his team in games. For all the instability at this position with this franchise for what, nearly 20 years, this kid should remain a big part of the future.

That's the rub. In his first complete year in Zorn's version of the West Coast offense, Campbell did as well as can be expected of any QB operating behind the Redskins' old, slow, and decrepit offensive line. Those upset with the level of QB play need to push for the line to be fixed, at the very least, before blaming Campbell. Also, it is common thinking that a QB needs at least two years in the system before being able to operate freely in it. As JLC notes, Campbell has all the tangibles that are wanted in a QB; size, talent, and smarts. Why quit on him now just when starting him the last two years is about to pay off?

Another man in California is dead after police twice used a Taser while attempting an arrest.

As police arrived they saw Rodolfo Lepe, 31, run into his home next door. Lepe threatened to kill the officers, and police shot him twice with a Taser but he pulled the darts out of his skin.Lepe fought the officers, striking and biting one and grabbing another officer's holstered firearm.They struggled with him before more officers arrived and he was subdued. Officers then saw that he was not breathing and began providing medical aid.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

If you arm yourself with a box cutter, chase and catch a woman and pull her down by her hair, and then "squared up" to fight with the nice officers who tell you to get off that woman...You Could Get Tasered!

If you "strike" two vehicles with your own, drive in a reckless manner (while leaving the scene of two accidents, no less), refuse to stop for the nice officers that observe you doing this, have POT (MJ, WEED, etc...) in the car with you and fight the nice officers after you force them to pull you out of the car...You Could Get Tasered! Oh, yeah... If you continue to resist the nice officers you could have a trusty K9 police dog try to rip your arm off. And if Fido doesn't convince you to cooperate, expect the application of Pepper Spray.

Pawlowski was pulled from the vehicle by officers and continued to struggle despite officers repeatedly asking for his cooperation, Vanek said.A Taser was then used, he said. A K-9 unit arrived. Officers told the man that he would be bitten if he did not cooperate. He didn’t cooperate, so the K-9 bit Pawlowski’s right arm in an attempt to gain compliance.However, due to Pawlowski’s heavy coat, police said, the K-9’s efforts appeared to have no influence.After a lengthy struggle, police said, Pawlowski was handcuffed. After refusing to get in the police cruiser willingly, police said, Pawlowski was sprayed with pepper spray and pushed in.

I'm wondering when the application of batons and a wood shower might be warranted. In my day Mr. Pawlowski would have become intimately acquainted with Mr. 4-D cell MagLite. I'm just sayin'...

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

If you are a 6'6" 270 lb former NFL defensive lineman who was part of the Purple People eaters and you are drunk, blow through a stop sign at high speed, come within an inch or two of side swiping a police car who is at that stop sign, refuse to stop when the nice officers ask you, and then proceed to say you're gonna kill the nice officers when they ask you to hit the ground...

But you won't even notice because, heck, you're a former NFL great, one of the baddest men alive, and you can simply swat the nice officers across the garage without trying...

Antaya said Eller didn't respond to repeated commands to get down on the floor or show his hands, which were covered by his coat. "I didn't know what I was dealing with," Antaya said, adding that Eller was already under arrest for fleeing police. "He was fairly large. I wasn't going to fight with him."

No, he was going to fight with you. Ever watch a cat toy with a mouse? And, uh, "fairly large?" That's like saying a skunk sort of smells.

Antaya said he shot Eller with his Taser, but that didn't faze him. The officer then tried to tackle Eller, but said, "It didn't happen" and Eller lifted him up off the ground.

Antaya again tried to stun Eller with the Taser gun, but it didn't work: "At that point, he said he was going to kick my ass." He said a punch to Eller's face had no effect and Eller then threw him across the garage.

Porras also was trying to subdue Eller to little effect, Antaya said. The two radioed for backup and kept on fighting but were swatted and pushed down by Eller, who at one point told the officers he was going to kill them, Antaya said.

Eller punched Antaya in the face, knocked him out, twisted his leg extremely hard and bent back his thumb to the point the officer thought it would break, Antaya testified.

When another officer showed up, Eller eventually relented. "I believe he said, 'All right, I'm done' and he just quit fighting," Antaya said.

Man, that Taser should have stayed in the holster. You just made him mad.

Mr. Eller, please get some counseling, and would you please mind NOT killing our nice officers? We spend a lot to train and equip them, and we think of them fondly. Thanks in advance...

Holy Cow. You know, if I'm a peace officer confronting a 6'6" 270 lb minor deity, I think I'm going to wait for backup -- lots of backup -- before getting physical over a drunk driving beef. The car was in the garage, the driver was now NOT driving and was out of the vehicle -- TOWERING over me and my partner. Heck, call in the National Guard! I'm waiting well out of reach of that behemoth...

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Canadian peace officers are turning in their Tasers to avoid disciplinary hearings should the Tasers have to be used.

Some Edmonton police officers have chosen not to carry Tasers because of the controversy the weapons attract, despite believing the devices are valuable tools. While testifying as a witness in a disciplinary hearing for two other officers, Const. Mike Wasylyshen said he has stopped carrying a Taser because of past criticisms.

In April 2004, Wasylyshen helped arrest a suspect after a lengthy car chase. While two other officers face disciplinary charges for using their Tasers that night, Wasylyshen chose not to use his.

"I had some bad luck with a Taser incident in 2002, to be honest," the officer said when asked why he didn't draw the Taser he had that night. "Using it would have been practical, it would have been justified. I just didn't utilize it. It would be a hassle for me to use it."

Wasylyshen said he has since turned in his Taser and has not requested another one.

What was his "bad luck" that prompted Wasylyshen to abandon the Taser?

In October 2002, Wasylyshen used a Taser to wake up Randy Fryingpan, 16, who was passed out in a car. The incident was heavily criticized and a judge later threw out a charge against Fryingpan.

But the most disturbing story of all was, unfortunately, the one that got the least amount of publicity: the decision of da Costa not to discipline Const. Mike Wasylyshen with regards to the Randy Fryingpan incident.

In October 2002, the then-16-year-old Fryingpan was found sleeping in his car near Abbotsfield Road. Wasylyshen, responding to a noise complaint, repeatedly used his Taser to rouse the teen.

Earlier this year, Judge Jack Easton halted Fryingpan's trial for breaching his bail conditions after concluding the teen's charter rights had been repeatedly violated by Wasylyshen. "The treatment of the accused by the application of the Taser and the use of the fist or butt end of the Taser gun to the body of the accused driving him to the ground causing a broken tooth clearly indicated to me an excessive use of force and a clear violation of the charter rights of this accused," the judge wrote.

The judge also wrote that, "The witnesses other than the officers appeared disgusted by an obvious overuse of force," and "The scene was clearly under control and the deployment of a Taser absolutely unnecessary."

But da Costa exonerated Wasylyshen, saying, "We could not sustain any charges against any of our members as there was insufficient evidence to support the charges." We can only shake our heads and agree with Edmonton lawyer Tom Engel, who concluded, "This is just shameful."(...)The acting police chief in Edmonton has dismissed all but one complaint against officers who used a Taser gun on a passed-out, drunken teen nearly three years ago.

Chief Darryl Da Costa said police concluded their internal investigation and charged one officer with insubordination. He said the officer received an official warning.

In 2002, complaints were filed accusing a constable of repeatedly firing a Taser at Randy Fryingpan while the 16-year-old was passed out drunk in the back of a friend's car.

A judge described the incident as cruel and unusual punishment and an abuse of the use of force.

But Da Costa said there was no evidence to support the allegations.

For crying out loud, Tasering a PASSED OUT subject, much less a 16 year old teen? Holy Crap! And from the CBC we find that the number of Taser hits "repeated" constitutes is SIX. Six Taser hits to a passed out teen... What kind of peace officer would do this? The CBC states that Wasylyshen "has been charged with assault for an alleged off-duty incident."

Const. Mike Wasylyshen, 31, was charged with three counts of assault and two counts of uttering threats in connection with an incident in December 2005, police announced Wednesday.

Why wasn't all THAT in the SOTT item we first saw, released just a couple weeks ago? This officer not only needs to not carry a Taser, he needs to find another line of work. The problem here is not the Taser, it was the nut holding the Taser.

Steve in Tennessee lives in Nashville with his beautiful wife Lee while co-existing with two dogs and one cat. Among his passions are chess, the NFL Redskins, the MLB Nationals, and exercising his First and Second Amendment Rights.

"Yes, I cling to my faith and my guns, but not bitterly!"

I'm American by birth, Southern by choice, and Texan by the Grace of God. I just happen to live in Tennessee.